took her by the soul
by less.than.three.eti
Summary: opposites attract … but differences destroy. /AU


_Disclaimed_.

She was sitting on the couch, staring at the TV but not _watching._ Her thoughts were all over the place, her eyes were an angry red, tear-marks were visible on her porcelain skin and her nose was stuffy. She hated when her nose was stuffy but she didn't have the strength to feel angry anymore. She was alone in her house, her daddy away on business **again. **It was driving her insane – the emptiness. No scratch that - the loneliness, which suddenly became her companion. No more than a week ago she'd been happy, still in one piece and _not alone_. She'd either be talking on the phone, or taking a walk, or cloud-watching or star-gazing or just be _together _**with him. **They'd text and talk and laugh and cuddle and argue and fight and be silent and make up and be themselves _together.  
><em>There was time for everything – they had planned it out and were sticking to that plan. She had grasped it so tightly that her hands grew numb and she hadn't felt when it slipped away. And now, sitting at home alone she realized what the problem was – the plan. Each meeting, each activity, each word and gesture was thoroughly thought of and in time all that was left was habit. What started out as a strong friendship and grew into a love, so deep it **hurt,** slowly, gradually faded into a routine both of them grew used to. And the moment their spark flickered for the first time it all went downhill.

They would be here soon, no doubt, her friends. They knew her and him and their _habit_ and they'd probably figured it out by now.  
>She wanted them to come and console her, patch her up, rid her of the loneliness, but she also wanted them to stay away. She was weak, shattered. And she fancied herself as the backbone of their group. What if they lost their faith in her upon seeing her like this? She was <em>shattered<em>, and lonely, and vulnerable and _**scared.**_

A single line from a song was repeating itself again and again in her troubled mind  
><em><strong>" Me. Leave. Never. Would. You. You. Show. Could. I. If"<strong>_

And how she longed to show him. What exactly,she was not sure. Maybe how much she needed him? That she'd been wrong? How much she regretted acting like a spoiled brat? How much she hated herself for not displaying her affection, her love for him properly? She could go on with the list for as long as she wanted.

She reached a hand and wiped the single tear making its way down her face. _You're not like that_ she told herself, _you've never been and you never will be_. The sadness in her eyes mixed with determination. She stood up and made her way to her room.

A shower later her blonde hair was no longer dull, her flawless face was no longer tear-stained but her baby-blues were still red-rimmed_**. **_

By evening they'd already found out and rushed over. And she couldn't stand it – the look in their eyes said it all. They were sorry for her. She was slipping, cracking, **breaking. **But they did not judge.

Sakura brought ice cream and magazines and all the things she **loved** but _just didn't give a shit about right now._

And Karin brought vodka. ( "I think I just fell in love with you" "You're just saying that because you wanna get drunk" "True." )  
>But really she loved them both.<p>

Ino knew how this shit was supposed to go down. She'd participated quite a few times – every time Karin and Suigetsu were on an off-period, that time when Sakura and the weird antisocial guy broke up, and every time Sakura and Sasuke had a fight. But she'd never been the broken-hearted one.  
>She knew how hard it was to make her friends talk, how many shots of vodka it took. So she made a decision.<br>"How about I just tell you what happened, you ask your questions and then we get shit-faced?"  
>And "Deal" was their immediate reply. So she started talking, and <em>she let it all out.<em>

"… and we were so happy, guys, we really were. But then came our anniversary and you know that feeling it gives you? Security. And I felt it. I was at the top of the world." She smiled bitterly and continued " but the months rolled by and we started seeing each other less and less what with him working and me studying. By the second year we were like a married couple, but not in the good so-in-love way. In that bored- of-the-routine-and-really-unhappy kind of way. And then he got that offer to travel around Europe along with his professor, Asuma. And he said yes. I tried reasoning with him. I tried to stop him" her voice was a barely a whisper " I tried to stop him from achieving his goal. He said that being separated for a bit would be a breath of fresh air for both of us. But I was so used to our schedule and I yelled at him, I called him selfish, uncaring. And he left." By now her face resembled a waterfall. " It's all because of me – if I weren't so bossy and demanding and loud and _troublesome…_"

"Then you wouldn't be _you_, Ino" Sakura cut her off, not liking where this was going  
>Karin put an arm around her shoulders "Sakura's right, sweety. And you know what they say – opposites attract"<br>Ino gave an uneasy smile. She'd be strong. She'd wait for him and when he comes back she'd apologize. For now she let it be.

So for one night she was Ino again, happy, loud, girly Ino. She drank and she laughed and she flailed and she sang and she danced and she tried to push the loneliness away. But when they fell asleep and she was the only one left it all came back. She thought of Karin's words "_you know what they say – opposites attract"_and her mind went back to him and how he preferred dull colors, how he didn't care about the latest trends, how he was an anthropologist and she was an artist, how he preferred cloud-watching to star-gazing. A smile formed on her lips but did not reach her eyes.

"You're right,Karin – opposites attract" she whispered "but differences destroy."


End file.
